Delay of SEC to set date for presidential candidacy raises controversy

CAIRO: Technical reasons are behind the delay in opening the doors for candidates to enter the presidential elections race, Hemdan Fahmi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC), said in a Thursday statement to Asharq Alawsat.

The SEC declared Thursday that it would hold a meeting Saturday to discuss the schedule of the upcoming presidential elections, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

A judicial source told Youm7 that presidential elections will be held before April 18, as defined in the roadmap.

Ali Awad, constitutional advisor to interim President Adly Mansour, said the difficulty of securing the headquarters of the SEC has caused the delay in opening the doors for candidacy in presidential elections, reported Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Awad said preparing the executive and regulatory procedures to conduct the presidential elections also caused the delay.

Judicial sources said that the commission has moved to a new headquarters at the State Information Service in Nasr City, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

The judicial source also said the delay in issuing the presidential elections law contributed to the delay.